Fri 9/14: Gun action Friday – Tradition!

Brett Kavanaugh authored a dissent in a case that upheld a semi-automatic weapons ban, arguing that the assault weapons ban was unconstitutional. In an excerpt from Judge Kavanaugh’s dissented in Heller v. D.C. (2011) “In Heller, the Supreme Court held that handguns – the vast majority of which today are semi-automatic – are constitutionally protected because they have not traditionally been banned and are in common use by law-abiding citizens. There is no meaningful or persuasive constitutional distinction between semi-automatic handguns and semiautomatic rifles. Semi-automatic rifles, like semi-automatic handguns, have not traditionally been banned and are in common use by law-abiding citizens for self-defense in the home, hunting, and other lawful uses.”

Maybe he missed the fact that a 10-year ban on assault weapons had been enacted, starting from 1994 through 2004 under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Even though that ban had some huge loopholes that limited its effectiveness, like grandfathering in semi-automatic weapons and large capacity magazines made before 1994, statistics show that a total of 16 mass shootings took place during the ban in the U.S., with an average of 20.9 people shot in mass shootings each year, as compared with 154 mass shootings this year alone with 11,000 deaths due to gun violence. We’re on track to match 2017, with its total of 346 mass shootings.

Maybe he missed that even Ronald Reagan backed a ban on assault weapons, described as semi-automatic firearms with detachable magazines and pistol grips, capable of firing many rounds without reloading, but requiring a trigger pull for each shot. Not unlike the the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, Reagan’s 1986 law on machine guns sales banned the private sale and ownership of machine guns that were not already registered on the day he signed the bill. The measure stopped new machine guns from entering the private marketplace, but didn’t ban the old ones. Is 1986 “traditional” when applied to machine guns but 1994 isn’t when applied to assault-style weapons?

Judge Kavanaugh, in a young country like ours, how many years equals “traditional”?

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Senator [___] to [keep on resisting/fight against] Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court because he will be a foe of rational gun safety laws and will be a danger to state laws that keep us safer.

Reading

CA state good news! The Del Mar Fairgrounds has voted to suspend gun shows for up to a year, after the last two scheduled shows are finished. They may be the first agency in the state to take such action, due to pressure by gun-safety advocates who attend board meetings and stand outside the events with signs demanding an end to the shows. Board members were also disturbed to see automatic weapons kits and crates of ammunition being sold, including hollow-point and armor-piercing bullets.

More CA state good news! California has ordered the National Rifle Association to stop selling “Carry Guard”, an insurance policy that covers legal costs for injury or damage from legally using a gun. The state Department of Insurance on Tuesday issued a cease and desist order saying that the NRA sold an unlicensed insurance product in the state. The order carries a potential fine of $5,000 a day for violations.